So with the 15% off at the WC store, I'm highly considering picking up a pair of shell Daltons with a couple of modifications. I know I want a Dainite sole, but with that I'm unsure whether I want a storm welt or not. Also, I do think that Dainite is noticeably harder than a leather sole, and that it pairs well with a Poron insole (my Rush Streets with Poron insole are more comfortable than my Dainite Lexingtons with leather insole), yet something just seems nicer about the leather insole. What do you guys think?

Here's a mock up of the welts I've done, which do you guys like better?

It's settled to a nice color for sure. I just started using Saphir cordovan cream in Fawn to try and tone down a bit of the red though, so far liking the results. This pair has seen everything over the years, tons of sun exposure, lexol, VSC, AE cordovan cream, HDLP, Reno, and now the Saphir cream.

Here is a couple pics when they were at their most red phase, I should have covered the welt and edges as I let them see more sun because I have much less contrast to the welt now. Didn't really think about it at the time though.

So with the 15% off at the WC store, I'm highly considering picking up a pair of shell Daltons with a couple of modifications. I know I want a Dainite sole, but with that I'm unsure whether I want a storm welt or not. Also, I do think that Dainite is noticeably harder than a leather sole, and that it pairs well with a Poron insole (my Rush Streets with Poron insole are more comfortable than my Dainite Lexingtons with leather insole), yet something just seems nicer about the leather insole. What do you guys think?

Here's a mock up of the welts I've done, which do you guys like better?

I like the Storm. If you accidentally get a pair in 8E and need to offload, let me know ;-)

As some of you may recall, i purchased a pair of AE Cordovan Strands back in March and they arrived in early April. Upon receiving them, i posted some photos of them and some imperfections i felt shouldn't have been found on a shoe that cost nearly $700. After some thought, i decided to call AE customer service and return the shoes and get them made again.

Well, after another 4 weeks, i finally received my shoes. Doreen in CS couldn't have been more helpful. She sent me photos of the new shoes before they were finished and boxed up to make sure i was happy with them. When it came time to pay for them (since my previous order was credited), she was nice enough to get me 20% off for my trouble.

I checked up with the CAC a few times to see if the offending ones came through to no avail. They may well be lumped in with a bunch of Carolina Panthers Super Bowl Champions t-shirts in Lower Swabia somewhere...

I checked up with the CAC a few times to see if the offending ones came through to no avail. They may well be lumped in with a bunch of Carolina Panthers Super Bowl Champions t-shirts in Lower Swabia somewhere...

Booo on that Panthers comment. Went to 8 out of 10 home games last year including both playoff games. So. Frustrating.

I'm a bit confused about the MTO option. Some are talking about it returning, but is this official? I'd love get a pair of Leeds in this blue.

I'm not exactly sure what the details of it are. My usual SA doesn't really know much about it other than something's in place. When I called AE this morning the representative I spoke with didn't know about the MTO shell program, but for SMU orders she said that you can change the sole, welt, insole, lining, and non-std sizing (i.e. 2E width) and that it's $40 per change, with a $110 maximum (so if you do 3+ changes it's only $110).

I'm pretty sure if the "any shoe to shell" MTO is in place though, that it's only for the standard colors (brown, black, burgundy). Rare colors, like navy, are usually reserved for the trunk shows.

My fav trees are from the Johnston & Murphy factory store. They are buy one get one half off and work out to around $15 CAD per set, by far the best deal on trees I have found as a Canadian. They fit the shape of most my shoes amazingly (Barrie last especially), and look amazing when in with the brushed chrome knob.